Will 4K Be All the Rage at the Consumer Electronics Show?

David Konow, 22nd October 2016

Okay, so you’ve read our reports on 4K TV, which is very expensive, and some experts will tell you that past a certain point the human eye can’t tell the difference in terms of sharpness. Still, like a lot of technical innovations, it’s being hyped as the next big thing, and it’s certainly going to be the talk of the Consumer Electronics Show.

We’re barely into the new year, and there’s headlines all over the Hollywood Reporter like “Sharp Introduces New 4K TVs,” and “Panasonic Highlights Wearable 4K Camera.” But here’s a more sobering headline from Variety: “Ultra HD TV Not Ready For Primetime.”

As David S Cohen writes, “The industry isn’t prepared to deliver the full 4K experience,” even though it’s going to be a big centerpiece of Sony’s presentations at CES. Despite the fact that consumers may not be able to tell the difference between hi def, and ultra hi def, Cohen continues that “UHD is being served to the masses without being fully bakes.”

Another source in Variety concurred by asking, “Will the consumers see enough of a difference to make them want to buy it? We’re literally walking on the edge of a cliff, trying to identify what standards are going to be in place and when to deliver this content to consumers.”

Indeed, and we’re wondering if this could be a technology flop, like the laserdisc and Betamax, both of which were considered superior formats to good old VHS back in the day, but neither of them took off. If so, it could make for one of the biggest blunders in tech history. Or maybe the naysayers are wrong, and this indeed could be the way of the future. We at TGD will be watching developments closely, so stay tuned.